USA Softball Womens National Team takes silver in ISF Womens World Championship

Haarlem,
Netherlands – The USA Softball Women’s National Team defeated
Australia 8-1 (six innings) to advance to play Japan in the Gold Medal game of
the International Softball Federation (ISF) Women’s World Championship on
Sunday the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of American/USA Softball
announced today. In the finals, the defending World Champions scored three opening-inning
runs and Team USA never could recover as Japan went on to win the Gold by a
final of 4-1.

With
a spot in the World Championship Gold Medal game on the line, Team USA wasted
little time building a lead on Australia in its first game of the day. Jaclyn
Traina (Naples, Fla.) earned the start and helped the USA win the first inning
by retiring the first three batters in the Aussie lineup. In the bottom half of
the innings, Raven Chavanne (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) led off with a single but
Kelsey Stewart (Wichita, Kan.) took her place when she grounded into a fielders’
choice in the next at-bat. With Stewart at first, Michelle Moultrie
(Jacksonville, Fla.) grounded to second and a fielding error resulted in both
base runners advancing safely. In the next at-bat, Samantha Fischer (Simi
Valley, Calif.) singled to left field plating both Stewart and Moultrie and
giving Team USA a 2-0 lead after one.

The
lead lasted through the second as Traina walked the first batter but Amanda
Chidester (Allen Park, Mich.) threw the base runner out as she attempted to
steal second. Two Traina strikeouts kept the Aussies scoreless through two.

In
the bottom of the third, with the USA still leading 2-0, back-to-back singles
to left field from Chavanne and Stewart gave Team USA runners and Valerie
Arioto (Pleasanton, Calif.) took advantage. The first baseman lined her opening
pitch to left field scoring two and adding to the USA lead. After three innings
the score was USA 4, Australia 0.

The
score held through the fourth inning but Australia tripled to start the fifth, resulting
in a pitching change as Jolene Henderson (Elk Grove, Calif.) entered the circle.
The runner eventually scored but Henderson held the visiting team to one and a
5-1 USA lead carried into the bottom of the fifth.

Stewart
and Moultrie again teamed up in the fifth to add to the USA lead. With a 2-1
count, Stewart found a pitch she liked and sent it to deep right field as she
came around for a standup triple. In the next at-bat, Moultrie put the ball in
the play and Stewart came home from third to make it USA 5, Australia 1 after
five innings.

Henderson
kept Australia scoreless in the sixth and Team USA needed three runs in the
bottom half to secure a run-rule victory. A walk followed by a Hallie Wilson
(Santa Ana, Calif.) single gave the USA runners in scoring position and Kellie
Fox (San Diego, Calif.) came through with a double to center field that scored
Taylor Hoagland (Flower Mound, Texas) from third. In the next at-bat Chavanne delivered
the final blow with a single to center field that scored two, ending the game
and sending Team USA to the Gold Medal Final.

Three runs in the first
inning proved too much for the USA Women’s National Team to come back from in
the finals of the ISF World Championship. Jessica Moore (Sutter, Calif.) earned
the start but gave up three runs early resulting in Sara Nevins (Pinellas Park,
Fla.) entering to close out the opening Japan at-bat. When the sides finally
changed, Japan had tallied three runs on two hits and three walks.

Offensively, Team USA put the
ball in play regularly but couldn’t convert runners to runs. Stewart singled in
the bottom of the first and Chidester did the same in the second but both
runners were stranded and the 3-0 score held through two innings of play.

Nevins pitched well through
the third but finally surrendered a run in the top of the fourth. With two down,
three straight singles resulted in the fourth run of the game and Japan took a
4-0 lead into the fifth.

Team USA started the fifth
inning with their second pitching change of the contest when Traina entered the
circle. Two ground outs and a fly out preserved the 4-0 score as Team USA came
to bat in the bottom of the fifth.

After drawing a walk to open
the USA at-bat, Stewart advanced to second on a Moultrie single to short stop.
Two batters later, Lauren Gibson (Pasadena, Md.) hit into a fielders’ choice
that score Stewart as Team USA cut into the Japan lead.

In the sixth, Moore
re-entered to pitch after a five-inning break and despite giving up
back-to-back singles, managed to keep Japan scoreless in the inning.

A three up, three down inning
for the USA batters in the bottom of the sixth left one more opportunity for
the Americans to get back into the game. In the top of the seventh Moore walked
the opening batter but retired the next three in order. Down to their last
at-bat, Chavanne singled to start the bottom of the seventh but a fly out and
two strike outs drew the game to a close and secured Japan’s third ISF World
Championship Gold.

The conclusion of the World
Championship also means the conclusion of the 2014 USA Softball Women’s
National Team season. The senior squad finished the year with a 28-6 record in
international tournament play. Chavanne led the way offensively on the year with
a .464 batting average and Nevins notched the best ERA at a .869 clip. Following
a four month break, Team USA will regroup in January with a selection camp to
choose the roster that will compete in the 2015 Pan-American Games among other
events. Follow all USA National Team news year round at www.USASoftball.com.

About
ASA
The Amateur Softball Association, founded in 1933, is the National Governing
Body of softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic
Committee. The ASA has become one of the nation’s largest sports organizations and
now sanctions competition in every state through a network of 76 local
associations. The ASA has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to
over 165,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than 2.5 million.
For more information on the ASA, visithttp://www.asasoftball.com/.

About USA
Softball
USA Softball is the brand created, operated and owned by the ASA that links the
USA Men’s, Women’s, Junior Boys’ and Junior Girls’ National Team programs
together. USA Softball is responsible for training, equipping and promoting
these four National Teams to compete in international and domestic
competitions. The USA Softball Women’s National Team is one of the only two
women’s sports involved in the Olympic movement to capture three consecutive
gold medals at the Olympic Games since 1996. The U.S. women have also won nine
World Championship titles including the last seven consecutive as well as
claimed six World Cup of Softball titles. For more information about USA
Softball, please visithttp://www.usasoftball.com.

About ISFHeadquartered in Plant City, Florida (USA), the ISF is a member of
the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), the world governing body for
the sport which is recognized by the International Olympic Committee and
SportAccord (formerly the General Association of International Sports
Federations). Softball (women’s fast pitch) made its Olympic debut at the 1996
Games in Atlanta. There are 127 affiliated countries in the ISF and millions of
participants in the sport worldwide.